I love deadlines, I love the whooshing sound they make as they go by - Dilbert I always got my work done in school. I’m not saying this as a bragging point, but that I didn’t realize that it was optional. When it came to school deadlines, I always handed my work in on-time. There … Continue reading Self-Imposed Deadlines
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Planning It All Out
When I was younger, maybe about 10 or 11, I kept a bug-out bag tucked in the back of my closet. I didn’t call it that, of course, I’m not a hard-boiled detective. It was my Fire/Earthquake survival bag, filled with only the most important clothing and books. I tend to over prepare. There never … Continue reading Planning It All Out
Mindy Kaling: “Flick Chicks”
I regard romantic comedies as a subgenre of sci-fi, in which the world operates according to different rules than my regular human world. For me, there is no difference between Ripley from “Alien” and any Katherine Heigl character. They are equally implausible. They’re all participating in a similar level of fakey razzle-dazzle, and I enjoy … Continue reading Mindy Kaling: “Flick Chicks”
Working with 1st Round of Betas
Last week I had a Skype chat with a close-friend. It was a chat I was both dreading and anticipating. Why? At the beginning of January I sent my novel to the first round of beta-readers. Sonya and Liz are close-friends of mine that I’ve worked with in the past, Liz edited my essays in … Continue reading Working with 1st Round of Betas
The impulse to write things down is a peculiarly compulsive one, inexplicable to those who do not share it, useful only accidentally, only secondarily, in the way that any compulsion tries to justify itself. Joan Didion on keeping a notebook
Scientifically accurate storytelling is hard. Few creative individuals take the time to work out the details. You see, science fiction that operates in the universe we actually live in not only feels true, it also feels honest… Knowledge of and use of science reveals amazing revelations, curiosities, and unexpected truths that can enrich and guide … Continue reading
Stranger, pause and look; From the dust of ages Lift this little book, Turn the tattered pages, Read me, do not let me die! Search the fading letters, finding Steadfast in the broken binding All that once was I! ~ The Poet and His Book, Edna St. Vincent Millay
Twelve quotes from authors to remember when starting your first book
When working on your first book, you’re faced with an extremely daunting task. Regardless of whatever training or practice you’ve had in the past, it’s still your first novel. At times it will be a highly enjoyable venture, but much of it will be excruciating. There are moments where you might want to throw in … Continue reading Twelve quotes from authors to remember when starting your first book
After the brief bivouac of Sunday, their eyes, in the forced march of Monday to Saturday, hoist the white flag, flutter in the snow-storm of paper, haul it down and crack in the mid-sun of temper. In the pause between the first draft and the carbon they glimpse the smooth hours when they were children– … Continue reading
When Plots Attack (Avoiding Melodrama)
I’ve been a lurker for most of my life. I like to stand at the edge of conversations, somewhere off to the side, listening intently. I’m one of those slightly too quiet people that listen and remember everything from conversations even though I’ll downplay it later. I like listening to conversations, finding out what makes … Continue reading When Plots Attack (Avoiding Melodrama)